Were jets close to shooting down errant plane?

October 01, 2009

The U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command won't say how close F-16s came to shooting down a small plane that left its flight plan and later crashed in eastern Indiana, but NORAD says that's always an option in such cases.

F-16s were scrambled to intercept the flight Wednesday after it overshot Grand Rapids, Mich., and headed south into northeast Indiana.

Authorities activated a communications network for

airspace emergencies formed after 9/11 that includes NORAD, the Federal Aviation Administration and the FBI.

NORAD spokesman Michael Kucharek says the decision to shoot down a wayward plane is made at the highest levels -- and would likely include the president. It wasn't clear

whether President Barack Obama was consulted Wednesday.Officials are still trying to figure out why the pilot apparently lost consciousness and crashed his small plane in a field near Albany, Ind., killing him.

The two F-16s following the plane saw the pilot slumped over the controls. Officials said the pilot may have had a health problem or have been suffering from a lack of oxygen.

The jet, from the Indiana National Guard, intercepted the plane after it lost contact with air traffic controllers, and followed it for about an hour until it crashed.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Rod Russell said the pilot, who was the only person aboard the plane, died in the crash. No one on the ground was injured when it crashed, and no other details were immediately available about the pilot.

David Lykins, 54, of Muncie said he and his nephew were doing construction work when they saw the plane fly in three circles overhead, then tilt on its side with the wings pointed down and

crash into trees on the edge of the field.

"I didn't know what to think. I knew whoever was in it didn't have control of it," he said.

The plane departed from Grand Rapids, Mich. and then flew north to Traverse City, Mich., said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro in Chicago. It turned around in Traverse City was flying back to Grand Rapids when it lost communication with ground air traffic controllers, Molinaro said.

The plane crashed around 12:40 p.m. EDT in a field in a rural area of eastern Indiana, about 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis and 185 miles south of Grand Rapids, NORAD said. John Erickson, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, said the